Today, we had to say goodbye to our host families before setting off to our next destination, La Fortuna. About two and a half hours into our trip, we stopped at The Best Pineapple Tour, where we learned the ins and outs of pineapple production in Costa Rica. Then, we made our way to the La Fortuna waterfall hike, and walked up and down the 500 stairs to the waterfall, and spring, to swim. We later arrived at our hotel and went to Baldi Hot Springs, to wade in the various pools and go down, the apparently dangerous, waterslides. Despite having a great day in Costa Rica, maybe one of the best so far, I did notice a major difference in the amount of tourists and tourist attractions between Heredia and La Fortuna. The atmosphere in La Fortuna feels almost completely built around tourism, with resorts, souvenir shops, zip line tours, and large flashy signs lining the streets. Because of this, I realized how much some areas of Costa Rica are becoming dependent on tourism as a major source of income.

While on the pineapple tour, our guide, Daniel explained that because their pineapple plants are a monoculture, there is great risk that comes with producing their fruit. Since the farm depends heavily on growing one crop, issues like disease or unfavorable weather conditions could negatively affect the entire plantation. This helped me better understand why many younger members of farming families are beginning to explore ecotourism and agrotourism as additional sources of income. By beginning to offer tours and educational experiences to visitors, farms are able to bring in other sources of income rather than relying entirely on the production of fruit. Despite the success of tourism for the pineapple plantation, their tour connects back to the larger discussion of how Costa Rica is becoming increasingly dependent on tourism. While tourism has the opportunity to open doors for some organizations, relying too heavily on one source of income could create vulnerability if challenges come up.